1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a method of manufacturing a microarray, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a microarray with an enhanced reaction yield.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the advancements made in genome projects, the genomic nucleotide sequences of various organisms have been disclosed. Thus, there has been an increasing interest in biopolymer microchips, and in particular, microarrays. Microarrays are tools that have been widely used in, for example, gene expression profiling, genotyping through detection of mutation or polymorphism such as Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP), a protein or peptide assay, potential drug screening, development and preparation of novel drugs, etc.
A widely available microarray may be manufactured by, for example, exposing to light predetermined regions of a substrate which contain functional groups protected with photo-labile protecting groups removing protecting groups, exposing functional groups in the predetermined regions, and then performing in situ polymerization of monomers in the predetermined regions.
However, to remove photo-labile protecting groups with light irradiation, exposure energy of 5,000 millijoules (mJ) or more may be required, which may result in a large amount of exposure and time, which thereby may lengthen the duration of the process. Furthermore, protecting groups removed during the removal of photo-labile protecting groups may interfere with the removal of other protecting groups. In addition, as microarrays become highly integrated, intervals between immobilized functional groups may decrease, thereby making it more difficult to remove photo-labile protecting groups and resulting in a reduction in reaction yield.
Thus, there is a need for a method for manufacturing a microarray which can reduce process duration and enhance reaction yield.